Device for removing a foot bunch of yarn from a cop



w. KUPPER 3,355,118

DEVICE FOR REMOVING A FOOT BUNCH OF YARN FROM A COP Nov. 28, 1967 Filed May 15, 1966 United States Patent Office 3,355,118 DEVICE FOR REMOVING A FOOT BUNCH OF YARN FROM A COP Wilhelm Kiipper, Rickelrath 51, Kreis Erkelenz, Germany, assignor to Walter Reiners, Monchen Gladbach,

Germany Filed May 13, 1966, Ser. No. 549,912 Claims priority, application Germany, May 26, 1%5, R 40,719

Claims. (Cl. 242-356) My invention relates to a device for readying cops in textile yarn processing machines by removing a foot bunch from the'cop.

The finally-wound length of yarn on cops and like bobbins coming from a spinning machine extends from the tip of the cop in relatively steep helical turns about the body of yarn down to the foot of the tubular core or quill carrying the yarn. A number of further turns are wound onto the foot, thereby forming a reserve winding of yarn or so-called foot bunch. Before using such a cop in winding or other processing machines, the foot bunch must be removed to obtain a fairly straight starting length of yarn capable of being seized for commencing the unwinding of yarn from the cop.

It has become known to remove the foot bunch from cops by means of a curved suction tube which is passed over the foot portion and the foot bunch of the cops, such devices being illustrated and described for example in Patents No. 3,031,149 (FIGS. 1, 2) and No. 3,043,529 (FIGS. 3 to 6) both assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In a more particular aspect, the present invention relates to cop-readying devices comprising such a curved suction tube.

In the known devices, the opening of the suction tube, acting as a suction nozzle for inducting the foot bunch, has a width smaller than the diameter of the body of yarn wound on the cop but larger than the diameter of the tubular core or quill of the cop. After the foot bunch is sucked away from the cop, the suction tube is removed, by relative motion between tube and cop, a sufficient distance to permit entry of a scissors-type cutter into the free space between the tube and the cop for severing the length of yarn which has been sucked away. This requires providing the machine with a special control mechanism which controls the timed operation resulting in the relative motion between suction tube and cop and the subsequent displacement and closing of the cutting scissors. This mechanism has been found to be susceptible to trouble due to wear and tear observed over prolonged periods of operation.

It is an object of my invention to devise a cop-readying device equipped with a curved suction tube and with yarn severing means which is of greatly simplified construction, obviating the necessity for a control mechanism for displacing and actuating the severing means.

Another object of the invention is to render readying devices of the above-mentioned type more reliable and considerably less susceptible to mechanical trouble.

To achieve these objects, and in accordance with my invention, the device for readying the cop by removing a foot bunch therefrom comprises a pneumatic suction tube of curved, preferably U-shaped configuration, having a nozzle end engageable over the foot portion of the cop and a nozzle opening of width larger than the core diameter but smaller than the yarn-body diameter of the cop to be readied; and I further provide stationary yarn severing means mounted in the bight of the curved tube and engageable by yarn from the foot bunch sucked into the tube, the

yarn being cut when the cop and the suction tube are disengaged from one another.

By virtue of the invention, the heretofore necessary relative motion between the severing cutter and the suction tube as well as the control mechanism needed for the control of such relative motion are eliminated. When the foot 3,355,118 Patented Nov. 28, 1967 hunch is sucked into the curved tube, the curvature of the tube has the effect of forcing the yarn, under the suction produced by an air current, into the vicinity of and directly against the severing means. When the cop and suction tube are thereafter disengaged from one another, the yarn is stressed and the excessive length thereof is separated at and by the severing device despite the fact that the severing device remains stationary.

Consequently, the entire construction of the readying device is greatly simplified. Moreover, the severing means need no longer consist of scissors but may be formed simply of a cutting edge or preferably of several cutting edges forming an angle between each other similar to the angle between the legs of open scissors. The yarn is then automatically severed when, for example, the cop is being moved out of the suction tube opening. In this'case, a control mechanism for actuating the severing device is likewise unnecessary.

According to another feature of the invention, the curved suction tube is preferably provided with a longitudinal slot formed in the inner bight side thereof, i.e. at the locality of the smallest radius of curvature, and the severing device is placed opposite the slot outside of the tube. In this case, the yarn which is pneumatically pulled off the cop will pass through the slot of the suction tube thus forming at the slot a chord of the curvature, so that the yarn is readily and reliably placed against or into the severing device. Since the severing device is mounted outside of the suction tube, it can be more readily inspected or replaced, for example when its cutting edge has become dull or has to be cleaned.

It is possible that the free end of the foot bunch may become entangled with the original starting or inner end of the yarn wound upon the cop, this inner end being located beneath the wound-up body of yarn and extending freely away from the foot of the core close to the outer end of the yarn. Such entanglement of the inner and outer ends of yarn may aggrevate the proper removal of the foot bunch. According to another feature of the invention, therefore, the removal of the foot bunch is further facilitated by providing the suction tube opening with barbs whose free points face in the direction of flow of the suction air current. When the cop is being inserted into the nozzle opening of the suction tube, any entangled yarn ends are pulled behind the barbs by the action of the air current. If the cop is then raised and lowered slightly, either once or repeatedly, if desired, and only for a short distance, any twisting between the inner and outer ends of yarn is torn open mechanically by the barbs, and the foot bunch can then be reliably removed by the current of air.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a device for removing a foot bunch of yarn from a cop, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the device constructed in accordance with my invention, shown in conjunction with a cop whose foot bunch is not yet removed;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the device as in FIG. 1 but in a subsequent operating stage in which the foot bunch has been removed and the cop has been moved out of the nozzle opening of the device;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cutting device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown inFIG. 1, the cop 1 has an outer length of yarn extending from the tip end over the body of yarn in steep helical turns 2 down to the foot 20 of the tubular core where the yarn forms a reserve winding or foot bunch 3. The starting or inner end of yarn 2b extends from beneath the yarn body and beneath the foot bunch 3. The outer end of the yarn terminates in a short length at 2a. As aforementioned, the inner end 212 and the outer end 2a may become twisted together if they are too long. Any entangled portion of yarn, however, is shown removed in FIG. 1 either by cutting both ends 2a, 212 before placing the cop into the device or by the disentangling effect of the barbs still to be hereinafter described.

With the cop I inserted into the nozzle portion of the curved suction tube 4, a collar 4a engages over the body of yarn with ample clearance to leave an annular interspace for the passage of air. The suction tube 4 is provided with a longitudinal slot 5 on its inner bight side where the radius of curvature is smallest. Located opposite the slot 5 and outside of the tube 4 is a cutter member 6 which is fastened to the collar 4a of the suction tube by means of a screw 7. The nozzle opening of the tube 4 located at the bottom of the collar 4a has a width smaller than the diameter of the yarn body but larger than the diameter of the core foot 20. Consequently, when the cop is fully inserted, the yarn body rests against an annular shoulder formed at the bottom of the collar 4a. The circular nozzle opening is provided with a number of peripherally distributed barbs 8 whose points are directed inwardly with respect to the nozzle opening and in the direction of the air flow.

As mentioned, it may happen that the inner end 2b and the outer end 2a of yarn have become twisted together. When lifting the cop or lowering the tube 4, the twisted ends 2:: and 2b, preferably under the action of the current of suction air, are drawn behind one or more of the barbs 8 and are thereafter torn open by relative motion between cop 1 and suction tube 4. As a result, the two ends 2a and 2b become separated as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a stage in which the foot bunch is removed and the cop 1 is being lifted away from the nozzle tube 4. The yarn end 2a is now lengthened and pulled through the slot 5 into the severing member 6. As the cop 1 is lifted farther out of the nozzle opening, the yarn end 20 is cut by the member 6.

With many types of yarn, the pulling force exerted by the air current upon the yarn end 2a often suffices to cut the yarn in the severing device before pulling the cop out of the suction tube.

It will also be seen from FIG. 2 that the downward turns 2 have likewise been unwound to a great extent so that substantially only one very long turn extends from the tip to the foot of the cop. This has the advantage that during further processing of the cop, the amount of yarn contained in the long turn 2 can be more readily guided toward the tip of the cop.

The embodiment of the severing device shown in FIG. 3 is formed by three blades 6a, 6b, 60, such as safety razor blades. The blades 6a and 6c are located one above the other, and the blade 6b is mounted between the two others. According to FIG. 2, the yarn then is pulled into the angle formed between the cutting edges of the blades 6a, 6b and 60. However the severing device need not be formed of cutting means. For some types of yarn the severing device may also be formed of clamping members in which the yarn is clamped fast so that it will be torn when the cop is being removed.

The removal of foot bunches from cops in a device according to the invention is preferably effected as follows: The suction tube is fixedly mounted on the fabricating machine, for example a yarn winding machine, in

which the cop is to be used. The cop is inserted from above into the suction nozzle and is then lifted and lowered a short distance several times. This provides several advantages. In the first place, the lifting and lowering, as mentioned above, loosens any twisting of the yarn ends 2a and 2b as may be present at the cop foot. Furthermore, the repeated closing and opening of the nozzle opening produces a shock current of air which promotes the removal of the foot bunch from the core. In addition, the subsequent removal of the cop from the suction tube opening causes severing of the sucked-off length of yarn automatically without any special auxiliary or control means, while simultaneously greatly shortening the remaining steep turns of yarn leading to the tip of the cop.

it will be recognized that the device according to the invention is advantageously applicable with automatic as well as non-automatic winding machines. With nonautomatic winding machines, the invention offers the advantage that the attending person need only push the cop several times briefly into the suction tube opening in order to eliminate the foot bunch, without the necessity of previously pulling the bunch off the cop by a rather time-consuming operation. With automatic winding machines, the invention has the further advantage that it may be mounted along a conveyor which carries the cops to the individual winding stations, so that the cops are sequentially liberated from their respective foot bunches, that is, a device according to the invention may take the place of a readying device as shown in Patent No. 3,043.- 529 with the result of simplifying and improving the construction and performance of the readying equipment. For such automatic machines it is of advantage if the lifting and lowering of the cops are effected by seizing them either at the tip or by means of a rod or lever protruding from below into the suction tube, without engaging the yarn winding on the cop. In this case, the steep turns 2 of yarn leading from the foot to the tip of the cop can be almost fully loosened and straightened.

I claim:

1. A device for readying a cop by removing a foot bunch therefrom, comprising a pneumatic suction tube of curved shape forming a bight, said tube having a nozzle end adapted to receive the foot portion of the cop to be readied and having a nozzle opening of a diametrical size between the diametrical sizes of the respective core and yarn-doby of the cop, and yarn severing means securely mounted in the bight of said tube, said yarn severing means and yarn from the foot bunch of the cop being mutually engageable for severing the yarn.

2. In a cop readying device according to claim 1, said suction tube being substantially U-shaped and having a longitudinal slot in the inward side of its bight whereby the suction pulls the yarn through said slot, said severing means being mounted outside said tube and opposite said slot in the suction path of the yarn.

3. In a cop readying device according to claim 2, said severing means comprising two blades with respective cutting edges forming an angle between each other having its vertex opposite said slot, said edges extending from said vertex toward said tube in a plane transverse to the longitudinal direction of said slot.

4. A cop readying device according to claim 1, comprising barbs mounted on said tube and distributed about said nozzle opening, said barbs having their respective tips pointing in the suction direction of said tube.

5. In a cop readying device according to claim 2, said nozzle end of said curved suction tube having a collar protruding axially beyond said nozzle opening and having a larger diameter than said yarn body so as to form an annular interspace when the cop is being inserted into said collar, said tube having an inwardly protruding annular shoulder between said collar and said nozzle opening, said shoulder forming an abutment for the yarn body of the cop being readied; and said severing means 5 6 comprising a cutter blade mounted on said collar at the 3,043,529 7/1962 Furst 2-4-235.6 outward side thereof. 3,059,866 10/ 1962 Reiners 24235 .6 References Cited 3,111,280 11/1963 Reiners et a1. 24235.5 3,203,634 8/1965 Furst 242-18 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 5 3,257,083 '6/1966 Furst 7/12-356 2,750,125 6/1956 Furst et a1 242--35.6

2,755,857 7/ 1956 Furst. STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR READYING A COP BY REMOVING A FOOT BUNCH THEREFROM, COMPRISING A PNEUMATIC SUCTION TUBE OF CURVED SHAPE FORMING A BIGHT, SAID TUBE HAVING A NOZZLE END ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE FOOT PORTION OF THE COP TO BE READIED AND HAVING A NOZZLE OPENING OF A DIAMETRICAL SIZE BETWEEN THE DIAMETRICAL SIZES OF THE RESPECTIVE CORE AND YARN-DOBY OF THE COP, AND YARN SEVERING MEANS SECURELY MOUNTED IN THE BIGHT OF SAID TUBE, SAID YARN SEVERING MEANS AND YARN FROM THE FOOT BUNCH OF THE COP BEING MUTUALLY ENGAGEABLE FOR SEVERING THE YARN. 